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Posts Tagged ‘joy’

today …

Posted in Nature Notes, Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 22, 2026| 3 Comments »

I found this picture on my laptop this morning. I must have downloaded it to share as part of the slide deck that was shown during his memorial service. This fishing trip must have been ten years ago. I know I have pictures of an older Steve with shovel in hand working in the garden, planting his basil and staking tomatoes. I have pictures of him in his woodworking shop making our dining table. There are pictures of him in the kitchen with his walker coaching whomever in how to do things like cooking salmon, making pesto or aioli. And I have pictures of him in his wheelchair as sous chef slicing vegetables and seasoning meat. And I have pictures of him in the bed resting or sometimes patiently waiting for someone to help us (he was fully a partner) to transfer safely from bed to chair and back again. Those pictures, those images, capture a long leg of a long journey that I am honored to have traveled for awhile at his side. It has been just over three months since he shuttled off the mortal coil, so to speak. Today is his birthday and of all the pictures I can access this is the one that surfaced out of the blue. And it the one that has become my favorite (of the moment anyway) because it captures the heart of him.

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light in the dark

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 17, 2020| 3 Comments »

Trinity Church in Copley Square. Boston

Well, I can tell you, with a little behind the scenes knowledge, that the only things missing from this view of Trinity Church are the four large wreaths that will hang from the columns of the church’s now brightly lit west porch and a life-size ice scene of the nativity sculpted by local artist Steve Rose of Boston Ice Effects. The sculpture will be located near the Phillips Brooks statue on the Boylston Street side of the church and will also be illuminated. This decoration is just one part of the church’s reimagining its traditional Candlelight Carols. Festivities begin this Saturday December 19th including the launch of Trinity’s first ever “Christmas Peek.”

The church’s Copley Square doors will then be open for visitors to step into a glassed alcove for a glimpse of a festive tableau. Featuring a grove of Christmas trees decorated with lights, stars, and parishioners’ ornaments, and Trinity’s worship space decked with greenery, poinsettias, and crèche, the experience will be joyfully accented with the sights and sounds of Candlelight Carols playing on large screens and airing through speakers facing the Square. The Christmas Peek will then remain open from 4:30-7:30 p.m. on most evenings (including Christmas Eve) through the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. With safety and wellness a presiding concern, the program will abide the state’s COVID-19 protocols.

Via the following link you can find out more details about the launch and how you can participate in person or virtually. https://www.trinitychurchboston.org/event/opening-night-of-candlelight-carols

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finding joy

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2018| Leave a Comment »

KadirNelsonNYKRcoverJuly2018

One of my favorite New Yorker covers to date, and an uplifting sight to pull from my mailbox at the end of the day. The artist is Kadir Nelson and you can read more about him, and the story behind the painting, on his website: http://www.kadirnelson.com/about

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joy in patterns

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »

CynthiaPattern

It was a rainy day which was okay because I think we need the rain. So I stayed inside dealing with necessary paperwork and wonderfully unnecessary research and in between I continued to play around with online tools like GIMP. I’m notorious for asking friends, especially when they’re grumpy, what brought you joy today? Several things brought me joy today, including dabbling in virtual paint to produce these patterns.  I hope you had a good day.

cynthiapinkpattern2

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story of my art – shakespeare and the joy of being

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2016| 3 Comments »

detail from isle of prospero by langosy

detail from isle of prospero by langosy

Editorial note: Throughout this unique sharing of his life as an artist, Mr. Langosy has focused on the influence of poets like Ezra Pound, painters like Titian, and underscoring everything, the influence of his muse, Elizabeth. In the following pages, he describes and depicts the influence of Shakespeare. But in the 1990s something else also affected his artistic journey.

“… my mobility inexplicably became impaired. As I gradually lost the ability to walk and became increasingly fatigued, I was no longer able to pursue connections in the art world or mount exhibits as I had in the past. I was told that my disability had psychiatric origins and that I would walk again when I was ready to do so. Over time, my paintings became as small as my housebound universe, sometimes shrinking to the size of a postage stamp. In October 2003, I collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where I was finally diagnosed with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. Once I knew that I wasn’t crazy after all and began targeted treatments … I am convinced that a huge factor in my remission was my decision to not allow MS to enter my studio.”

And now …

View preceding episodes in The Story of My Art: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

View four decades of his work at http://www.donald.langosy.net/

See what’s current, as well as wonderful old photos of the artist at work, via Langosy’s Facebook page.

His contact: Zoe Langosy at zlangosy@me.com.

Save

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a wonderful chaos

Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2016| 2 Comments »

pea tendrils

My indoor garden is in a bit of disarray. The nasturtium grew poorly in terms of foliage but continues to find strength to bloom. I’ve got peas in three little pots, their tendrils reaching for the sun. I need to decide soon if I will snip their tender tops to eat (the original intention) or let them grow tall and strong and possibly produce pods!

radish, nasturtium, and red kale greens

radish, nasturtium, and red kale greens

The radish are doing well … but I planted too many seeds and so now I have radish greens growing everywhere. Some of those little pots are designated as future salad greens, but I did find a few strong plants to put in one bigger pot. We’ll see if I can actually grow radishes indoors.  I was very successful growing potatoes indoors. They were marble-sized but that doesn’t really matter. 😉

sage

The herbs are so far doing well. I’m looking forward to the chef in my life roasting some baby potatoes on a bed of sage and maybe doing something with grilled cheese and fresh basil.

As wonderfully disorganized as everything is … I’ve got tarragon growing in a bathroom and rosemary in a bedroom … I cannot help but find joy in this garden and in the knowledge that the growing season has only just begun.

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a gift from a young friend

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2016| 4 Comments »

Art by Maya

Art by Maya

Can you guess which one is me? A lovely gift from a young friend. A drawing of us out and about in the sun. She’s part of my informal Kids Postcard Club. My next step is to turn her artwork into a postcard and give her a few, along with postcard stamps, so she can share her work with friends and family near and far. We’ll see … 😉

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bringing me joy are

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 4, 2016| 3 Comments »

… books by Bruno Munari on drawing trees and drawing the sun. Online descriptions suggest they were written for children but I think what is meant is children of all ages.  Unexpected finds as I walked through the library. Thank goodness I have a big backpack.

More information about Bruno Munari

Brainpickings on Munari: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/11/22/bruno-munari-design-as-art/

drawing a tree:  http://www.artbook.com/8887942765.html

drawing the sun: http://www.artbook.com/8887942773.html

Wikipedia on Munari: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Munari

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life-changing magic journal

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , on January 14, 2016| 2 Comments »

I have to admit that when I clicked the box to request the book, I wasn’t really paying attention.  I thought I’d selected Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.  But I hadn’t.  I’d selected the complementary lined journal.  I thought, “Well, heck.” I flipped through the compact little book, a mostly traditional lined journal denoting month and day but no actual year.  On the top right corner of the right pages, every now and then would flash the question, “Does it spark joy?” Then every once in a while would pop up turquoise pages with white print.  I liked Joy manifests itself in the body and Make your life shine.  Not all of the statements resonated with me but they were all thought-provoking.  They made me pause and ponder.  And I think it is that behavior– of pausing — that is part of the life-changing magic.

Even after I put the book aside, unsure of what to do with it, and even as I went about my life, I found myself asking the question at the wierdest moments, “Hmmm, does this spark joy in my life?”  I have asked similar questions of other people for much of my adult life, but it is not often that I ask it of myself.  That’s the beauty of the little book for me.

While I apply that question, Does it spark joy?, to all sorts of activities, I think the origin of Ms. Kondo’s query had to do with helping people literally organize their lives.  To declutter. I don’t have a problem with clutter but I think we can all be reminded to pause and reflect upon what is bringing us joy in this world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this honest review.

More information …

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/536430/life-changing-magic-a-journal-by-marie-kondo/

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-origin-story-of-marie-kondos-decluttering-empire

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imperfect beauty

Posted in Inspiration, tagged , , , , , on August 3, 2014| 6 Comments »

a helping hand across cold waters

a helping hand across cold waters

An imperfect image yet one I could not make myself delete.  An older man was helping a very young child cross big stones at the ocean’s edge.  She was having a grand time dancing above the waves and perceived no danger in the rising tide.  The man was more wary, and getting quite wet, but given the smile on his face at the child’s unconstrained joy, a bit of wetness was all worth it.

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